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Carnot heat engine efficiency with a paramagnetic gas

Preprint · May 2019

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35895.57761

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Carnot heat engine efficiency with a paramagnetic gas
Manuel Malaver1,2,3
1 Bijective Physics Institute, Bijective Physics Group, Idrija, Slovenia
2 Entro-π Fluid Research Group.
3 Maritime University of the Caribbean, Catia la Mar, Venezuela.
*Corresponding author (Email: mmf.umc@gmail.com)
Abstract – Considering ideal paramagnetic medium, in this paper we deduced an
expression for the thermal efficiency of Carnot heat engine with a paramagnetic gas as
working substance. We found that the efficiency depends on the limits of maximum and
minimal temperature imposed on the Carnot cycle, as in the ideal gas, photon gas and
variable Chaplygin gas.
Keywords – Carnot heat engine, ideal paramagnetic medium, thermal efficiency,
paramagnetic gas.

1. Introduction

The magnetism is a type of associated physical phenomena with the orbital and spin
motions of electrons and the interaction of electrons with each other (Ahmed et al., 2019).
The electric currents and the atomic magnetic moment of elementary particles generate
magnetic fields that can act on other currents and magnetic materials. The most common
effect occurs in ferromagnetic solids which is possible when atoms are rearrange in such a
way that magnetic atomic moments can interact to align parallel to each other (Eisberg and
Resnick, 1991; Chikazumi, 2009). In quantum mechanics, the ferromagnetism can be
described as a parallel alignment of magnetic moments what depends of the interaction
between neighbouring moments (Feynman et al., 1963).
Although ferromagnetism is the cause of many frequently observed magnetism effects,
not all materials respond equally to magnetic fields because the interaction between
magnetic atomic moments is very weak while in other materials this interaction is stronger
(Ahmed et al., 2019). In the atoms and molecules of paramagnetic materials there are
unpaired electrons which freely align their magnetic moment in any direction and when an
external field is applied these magnetic moments align in the same direction of applied field
making it more intense (Eisberg and Resnick, 1991). Hydrogen, lithium and oxygen are
examples of paramagnetic substances.
The paramagnetic property of oxygen is important in many processes (Miessler and
Tarr, 2010). As the paramagnetism is strongly temperature-dependent, cold oxygen
molecules are attracted by a strong magnetic field and when they are heated leave the
magnetic field, this gives rise to a current which generates a measure of the oxygen content.
 Diamagnetism is an intrinsic property of all materials and is the tendency of materials to
be repelled by an applied magnetic field because of the presence no unpaired electrons so
that the atomic magnetic moments not produce any effect (Jackson, 2014). The other forms
of magnetism as paramagnetism or ferromagnetism are much stronger in a material and the
diamagnetic contribution is very negligible (Ahmed et al., 2019). Examples of diamagnetic
substances are Helium, bismuth and water.
A paramagnetic gas can be treated as an ideal monoatomic gas (García-Colín Scherer,
1972). An ideal gas is a gas composed of a group of randomly moving, non-interacting
point particles. The ideal gas approximation is useful because it obeys the gases laws and
represent the vapor phases of fluids at high temperatures for which the heat engines is
constructed (Lee, 2001). Any device for converting heat into work in a cyclic process can
be called a heat engine or thermal machine and must operate in the presence of two
different temperatures (Dickerson, 1969). In a steam engine, for example, the high
temperature is the temperature of the steam and the low temperature is the condensed cold.
A heat engine that can work with an ideal gas as working substance is the Carnot cycle. For
the ideal gas, Carnot cycle will be composed by two isothermal curves and adiabatic which

will come given by the conditions PV  const and PV  const , respectively
(Dickerson, 1969; Nash, 1970) where γ is an adiabatic exponent.
One of the great virtues of the Carnot cycle is its potential applicability to any
working substance (Nash, 1970). In agreement with Leff (2002) and Lee (2001) the Carnot
cycle for a photon gas provides a very useful tool to illustrate the thermodynamics laws and
it is possible to use for introducing the concepts of creation and annihilation of photons in
an introductory course of physics. Bender et al. (2000), showed that the efficiency of a
quantum Carnot cycle is the same as that of a classical Carnot cycle, with the identification
of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian as the temperature of the system. Unlike the
ideal gas, the pressure for a photon gas is a function only of the temperature and the internal
energy function is dependent of volume (Leff, 2002). Malaver (2015,2018) found that
thermodynamic efficiency of Carnot cycle for a variable Chaplygin gas depend only on the
limits of maximum and minimal temperature imposed to cycle as in case of the ideal gas an
photon gas.
In this paper, an expression for the efficiency of Carnot cycle with a paramagnetic gas as
working substance is deduced from the equation of state for an ideal gas. We have found
that the efficiency of Carnot cycle in a paramagnetic gas will depend on the limits of
maximum and minimal temperature imposed on the cycle. The article is organized as
follows: in Section 2, the physical properties of Carnot heat engine are studied; in Section
3, we show the deduction for the thermal efficiency of Carnot cycle for the ideal gas; in
Section 4, we obtain an expression for the efficiency of Carnot engine with a paramagnetic
gas; in Section 5, we conclude.
 2. Carnot heat engine

In the process of operation of a heat engine between two different temperatures, some
heat is always transferred on the outside (Dickerson, 1969). If an amount of heat QH is
absorbed at the high temperature the work is done on the surroundings, and if a quantity of
heat Q L is lost at the lower temperature, then of the first law of thermodynamics for the
entire cyclic process QH + Q L + Wnet  U  0 where U is the variation of the internal
energy in the process and Wnet is the work in the cycle (Dickerson,1969; Nash,1970). The
efficiency of a heat engine is commonly defined as the ratio of the work obtained from the
system to the heat taken from the hot reservoir
 Wnet QH  QL Q
   1 L
QH QH QH
(1)

A particularly simple heat engine cycle to handle mathematically is the Carnot cycle
(Dickerson,1969 ; Wark and Richards,2001). In the figure 1, two temperatures are included,
TH and TL . The first step in a Carnot cycle is a reversible isothermal expansion a TH or
from point A to point B in figure 1. This expansion could be achieved by expanding the
gas in contact with a large heat reservoir at TH . A certain amount of work will be done on
the surroundings which implies an absorption of heat .
The second step is an reversible adiabatic expansion from the state at point B at point C.
Under these conditions QBC  0 and U BC  WBC and the internal energy change is the
same as the work done on the working substance. Since work is done on the surroundings,
W BC is negative and the internal energy must fall.
The third step, the reversible isothermal compression, is continued just to the point C
where a final adiabatic compression will bring the gas back to its starting conditions at
point A on the PV plot of the figure 1. Work WCD is done on the gas, and an amount of
heat QL is lost from the gas which compensates for this work exactly in an ideal gas and
approximately in a real gas.
In agreement with Dickerson (1969) the final adiabatic compression to the starting point
occurs with work WDA done on the gas and an increase in the internal energy. For the
entire cycle, Wnet  WAB  WBC  WCD  WDA and Qneto  QH  QL . The total sum of
heat and works is zero since the initial and final states are identical

QH  QL  WAB  WBC  WCD  WDA  Qnet  Wnet  U  0 (2)

The efficiency of the entire cycle in converting heat to work is

 Wnet Q Q  QL Q
   H  1 L (3)
QH QH QH QH
 Since QH and Q L have opposite signs, the efficiency is less than 1 and is the greatest
possible efficiency.

3. Carnot cycle in an Ideal Gas

In this work, we have used the convention of Wark and Richards (2001) that defines the
work during a reversible process as
W    PdV (4)
Following Dickerson (1969) and Nash (1970), in Fig. 1 we show the Carnot cycle for an
ideal gas. In the first step of A to B, that is the isothermal expansion, there is no change in
the internal energy U in an ideal gas. This implies that
V
 W AB  Q AB  RT H ln B (5)
VA
QAB is the absorbed heat in the first step, TH is the high temperature and R is the
universal gas constant.
The second step of B to C is an adiabatic expansion. In this expansion QBC  0 and the
change in internal energy is equal to the work done
U BC  WBC  CV TL  TH  (6)
where CV is the thermal capacity at constant volume and TL is the low temperature.
In the isothermal compression of C to D, the internal energy change is again zero and
we obtain

VD
 WCD  QCD  RT L ln (7)
VC
In the final adiabatic compression of D to A QDA  0 and

U DA  WDA  CV TH  TL  (8)

In a Carnot cycle for an ideal gas the net work done in the two adiabatic processes is
zero and the adiabatic steps are related by the equation

CV
VB V A  TL  R
   (9)
VC VD  TH 
The net work of the four steps is Wnet  WAB  WCD . Substituting (9) into eqs. (5) and
(7) , we obtain

Wnet   RTH  TL ln

VA
(10)
VB
 The heat absorbed at the high temperature is QAB and the thermal efficiency of the entire
cycle is

 Wnet T
  1 L (11)
Q AB TH

Fig. 1. Carnot cycle for an ideal gas

4. Thermal efficiency in an ideal paramagnetic gas

According García-Colín Scherer (1972) for an ideal paramagnetic gas, the first law of
thermodynamics can be expressed as

dU  TdS  pdV  0 HdM

(12)

0 is the vacuum permeability. In this paper were considered the equations of state for
the ideal gas and the ideal paramagnetic medium

PV  RT
(13)

H
M C
T (14)

Where M is the magnetization, T is the temperature, H is the intensity of magnetic field

applied and C is the Curie's constant .

In a reversible adiabatic process dS=0 and for the equation (12) we have
 dU   PdV  0 HdM (15)

Following Dickerson (1969) , the internal energy U(T,V) is given by

 U   U 
dU    dV    dT
 V T  T V (16)

 U   U   U 
But for the ideal gas    0 and dU    dT with CV    and for
 V T  T V  T V
the equation (15) can be written

RT
CV dT   dV   0 HdM
V (17)

3
For the ideal monoatomic gas CV  R and substituting (14) in (17)
2

3 RT MT
RdT   dV   0 dM
2 V C (18)

Rearranging eq.(18) we obtain

3 dT R M
R   dV   0 dM
2 T V C (19)

Integrating


R ln 2   R ln 2  0 M 22  M 12 
3 T V
2 T1 V1 2C (20)

Then with the eq. (14) and converting to the exponential form

3
0C  H 22 H12 
V2  T1  2 R  T22
2 
T12 
  e
V1  T2  (21)

And for a reversible adiabatic process in a paramagnetic gas we have

 3 0CH 2

VT e2 2 RT 2
 const (22)

Considering now the Carnot cycle for a paramagnetic gas, in the first step, the reversible
isothermal expansion (García-Colín Scherer, 1972)

dW   PdV  0 HdM (23)

For an isothermal process dT=0 and replacing (13), (14) in (23) and integrating

VB  0 C 2
WI   RT H ln 
V A 2TH

H B  H A2  (24)

In agreement with the first law of the thermodynamics, the absorbed heat in the first step
is given by

VB  0 C 2
QI  RT H ln 
V A 2TH
H B  H A2 
(25)

The second step is an adiabatic expansion where QII  0 and the change in internal
energy is equal to the work done U II  CV TL  TH 
In the third step, the reversible isothermal compression

VD  0 C 2
WIII  QIII   RTL ln 
VC 2TL

H D  H C2  (26)

For the final adiabatic compression again QIV  0 and U IV  CV TH  TL  , then as
in the ideal gas the net work done in the two adiabatic steps is zero. In agreement with the
first law (Dickerson, 1969; Nash, 1970), for a cyclic process U  0 and the net work can
be written as

VB  0 C C
Wnet  WI  WIII   RT H ln 
V A 2TH
  V

H B2  H A2  RT L ln D  0 H D2  H C2
VC 2TL


(27)

For the heat absorbed at TH is given by (25) and the efficiency is

 VB  0 C C
 Wnet
RT H ln 
V A 2TH
 V

H B2  H A2  RT L ln D  0 H D2  H C2
VC 2TL
 
 
C
 
QI V (28)
RT H ln B  0 H B2  H A2
V A 2TH

and for the eq. (28) we have

VC  0 C
 Wnet
RT L ln 
VD 2TL
H D2  H C2  
  1
C
 
QI V (29)
RT H ln B  0 H B2  H A2
V A 2TH

From of (22) we can obtain

VC VB  2 RTH2 H A  H B  2 RTL2 H D  H C 

  0C 2 2  0C 2 2 

 e
VD VA
(30)

Substituting eq. (30) in eq. (29)

VB  0 CTL
 Wnet
RT L ln
VA
 2
2TH
H B2  H A2  
  1
VB  0 C
 
QI (31)
RT H ln  H B2  H A2
V A 2TH

Rearranging (31)

 0C
RT L ln
VB
1  H B2  H A2  
 Wnet
2

  1  2 RT H
VA 
V  C  (32)
QI
RT H ln B 1  0 2 H B2  H A2
V A  2 RT H
 


And thus the eq.(32) takes the form

TL
  1
TH (33)

The efficiency of paramagnetic gas depends on the limits of maximum and minimal
temperature of the cycle as in the ideal gas, photon gas and variable Chaplygin gas.
 5. Conclusions

We have deduced an expression for the efficiency of a Carnot heat engine with an ideal
paramagnetic gas, which is a function of the maximum and minimal temperature of the
thermodynamic cycle. The study of paramagnetic gas can enrich the courses of
thermodynamics, which contributes to a better compression of the thermal phenomena.
The thermodynamic equations that describe the paramagnetic gas are tractable
mathematically and offer a wide comprehension of behavior in magnetic materials and
about the physics of solid state. The study of ideal paramagnetic gas also serves as good
introduction for further treatments in statistical and thermal physics of magnetic systems.
We have shown that the efficiency of a Carnot cycle with an paramagnetic gas is the
same as that of a classical Carnot cycle as in the ideal gas, the photon gas and Chaplygin
gas ( Dickerson, 1969; Leff,2002; Malaver, 2018). For a Carnot heat engine with a
paramagnetic gas as working substance to be 100% efficient, temperature of hot reservoir
TH must be infinite or zero for the cold reservoir TL and the second law says that a process
cannot be 100% efficient in converting heat into work.

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